


Rosebuds in the Garden

by im_the_king_of_the_ocean



Category: RWBY
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Meeting the Parents, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26563678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_the_king_of_the_ocean/pseuds/im_the_king_of_the_ocean
Summary: Ruby introduces Oscar to her parents.
Relationships: Oscar Pine/Ruby Rose
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	Rosebuds in the Garden

Gentle sunlight streams in through the window.Outside, a songbird lands on the sill ledge, hopes around a little, cocks its head, and then takes off again.Sunflowers in the garden shift with the quiet breeze.

Ruby stirs.Not ready to be awake, she burrows deeper under the covers.With a contented sigh, she goes to snuggle up against the slumbering form of her partner, only to find empty space where he should be.Ruby cracks an eye open.She groans.Of course he’d have gotten up already.She catches sight of the digital clock on the bed table.Okay, maybe it is rather late in the morning.But still.

Rolling over on her back, Ruby opens her eyes.She inhales deeply, and exhales.She rubs the sleep out of her eyes.After taking one last moment to enjoy the warmth and comfort of bed, Ruby sticks her toes out from under her blankets into chilly air.

It’s weird not to put on her combat gear, but also nice, in a way.After everything, to have a break, time to just _relax_ , though it feels foreign and strange, is a welcome relief.

Gazing at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, Ruby smiles softly at the t-shirt she threw on.She got it at a rock concert she and Oscar went to while passing through Argus on their way home to Patch.The event was more her jam than his, but he’d gone along with her anyway.Later that night, Oscar admitted, right before she did, that he wanted to spend more time with _just_ her like this.They hadn’t said ‘I love you’ or kissed, but they had intertwined their hands and exited the night an official couple.

Deciding to forego socks, Ruby pads downstairs barefoot.Her feet thump in a familiar rhythm against the wooden stairs.As she approaches the kitchen, Ruby hears sizzling and two familiar voices engaged in jovial conversation.She stops in the doorway to observe.

“As soon as Ruby learned to walk, let me tell you, she was zipping _everywhere_.”Taiyang takes some plates out of one of the cupboards, and puts them down on the side of the stove, where Oscar is carefully frying eggs.“No one actually believed she could go as fast as she did, especially when we left the cookie jar unguarded.This one time—”

“Daaaaad!”Ruby whines loudly, stopping Taiyang’s story and announcing her presence.“What have you been telling him?”

Taiyang grins back at her.“Well, good morning to you too, sleepyhead.I just thought, as a _responsible_ father, I should tell Oscar here all about your childhood exploits.”To her continued pout, he says, “Hey, that’s what you get for sleeping in late.”

“Ugggh.You’re the _worst_.”Ruby sticks out her tongue at Taiyang, who makes a face back.

Oscar looks between the two of them, clearly unsure of whether he should chime in or not.Seeing that Ruby and her dad have started a competition out of who can make the weirdest face at the other, he decides not to intervene and instead expertly slides the eggs out of his pan onto the plates Taiyang provided.

Ruby wins the competition, or at least makes the last funny face.She approaches Oscar and reaches for some of the food he’s prepared.“Ooh, yummy.”

Oscar swats her hand away.“Be careful, that’s still hot.”

“I can handle it.”Ruby goes for the food a second time.

“No.”Oscar grabs her wrist and holds her hand away.“Just be _patient_.”

“But I’m huuungry.”

“And you’ll eat,” Oscar retorts.“In a couple minutes, when everything’s ready.”

Ruby gives Oscar a Look, which he answers with a raised eyebrow.Then, in a flash, Ruby leans in, pecks Oscar on the lips to distract him, steals a bit of egg and toast, steps back, and gulps down the food in one go.Oscar shakes his head and rolls his eyes at her antics.Ruby giggles.

“Sooo…” Taiyang reminds them that yes, he is, in fact, still there.“I need to head to Signal.Class this afternoon to prepare for and whatnot.I’ll be home in time for dinner.”He looks between them.“Try not to get into too much trouble, or get Zwei sprayed by a skunk. _Again_.”

“We won’t!”Ruby reassures him.

“Right.”Taiyang looks between her and Oscar disbelievingly, but shrugs.He grabs his breakfast, a thermos of coffee, and heads out.

Oscar finishes stacking his and Ruby’s plates with eggs, toast, and orange slices.He walks thems over to the table.“What _do_ you want to do today?”

The smile falls from Ruby’s face.“I…there’s someone you still need to meet.”

It’s just past noon when Ruby and Oscar make it to the top of the cliff.Ruby leads Oscar, gently pulling him along by the hand.This introduction will be less nerve-wracking for him than when he met Taiyang, Ruby knows, but it won’t be easy.For either of them.

She thinks back to when they visited an old rowan tree in a quiet meadow on Oscar’s aunt’s farm, and the graves carefully tended to in its shade.Oscar’s parents had died during a Grimm attack on what had then been a nearby town (she and Oscar passed through the ruins on their travels— _that_ had been a hard day).Oscar had been too little at the time, to truly remember them, he admitted to Ruby the day he introduced her to his parents, but his aunt told him stories.

There’s comfort for both of them, in knowing the other understands what it’s like to grow up missing someone they never truly knew, but it’s a hard feeling to describe.

Ruby kneels before Summer’s grave.Oscar joins her.He keeps her hand clasped in his own.It feels odd, being here.Ruby knows what happened to Summer now, the tragedy of that last mission.She _understands_ why her mother thought she had to go, even if a selfish part of her still wishes she hadn’t.

“Hi, mom,” Ruby starts.She knows Summer isn’t _actually_ there, but it makes her feel better to think she’s connected to her mother when coming here regardless.“I want you to meet someone.”She looks up away from the stone to Oscar.She looks into his hazel eyes, wholly his own now that Ozpin has finally been allowed to rest.“His name’s Oscar.”Ruby pauses to take a breath.“I think you’d have liked him.”

They can never really be certain of the truth of that statement, but, back at the house, white flower buds appear on the rosebush in the garden.


End file.
